With Thanksgiving around the corner, we at the RAK Experience have been thinking a lot about what we are grateful for and brainstorming fun and creative ways to express our gratitude. Random Acts of Kindness (RAKs) are kind of our thing and there are so many RAKs you can do to tell somebody “Thank You”.
Showing gratitude is a proven way to make you feel happier, increase your self-esteem, improve your relationships, and all kinds of other really great things! It also makes the person you are thanking feel special and appreciated as well. We could all use more of that.
Whether it’s a teacher, a sibling, or a server at your favorite restaurant, here are 15 ways to give thanks this holiday season:
Saying thank you and expressing your gratitude is an important practice for you and everyone around you. If you find yourself traveling around the world, we are going to send you off with how to say thank you in 10 different languages so you always know how to say “thanks!”.
Spanish – Gracias
French - Merci
Italian - Grazie
Japanese - Domo Arigato
Mandarin - Xièxiè nǐ
German - Danke schön
Thai - Khob khun ka (female) Khob khun krap (male)
Hawaiian - Mahalo
Hebrew - Toda
Hindi - Dhanyavaad
Have you ever tried to carry out a random act of kindness and been met with suspicion, skepticism, or just been downright rejected? This is actually very normal. Psychologists have done studies that showed that this is often the case. When people were met with a random act of kindness many of them believed there was a catch or even that there was mal-intent behind the act. As humans we are not always prepared for a stranger to do something kind for us and a lot of the time it puts us on guard.
This skepticism is a reflection of our society but it shouldn’t discourage you. The more kindness that is spread, the more accepting people will be of it. It will create a Domino Effect of random acts of kindness. Sometimes the best way to start out is with baby steps. Here are three easy and simple RAK’s that will very likely not be met with suspicion because we have to start somewhere!
We’ve all been there. Traffic is backed up as everyone tries to merge into one lane. People are frustrated. People are stressed. So often, a car is trying their best to merge but no one will let them in and so they are waiting for car after car for someone to let them over. Be that someone. Slow down and let them merge. It’s a free, small, and simple random act of kindness that can really alleviate stress for a stranger.
Shelters and food pantries are always in need of warm clothes and staple food items to help those in need. Go through your clothes and donate what you no longer need or use. You can do the same with your pantry and canned items or take a trip to the grocery store and pick up items from a local food pantry’s most needed list. This act of kindness will go a long way in making sure people who are struggling receive the basic care that they need.
Gather your friends and family for a day of picking up litter whether it be around your neighborhood, at the beach, a park, or anywhere else you can think of. This is a great way to spend time outside while also doing an awesome random act of kindness that affects the whole community and the planet.
We are all about Random Acts of Kindness so have made it even easier to spread RAKs! On our website, you can build a RAK box full of goodies to send to a stranger. Just select Anonymous RAK at checkout. We will pair your donation with someone from our RAK nominee list. You will receive an email once you have been paired to let you know your RAK is being sent out into the world!
Now that you’re feeling inspired go out there and fight the skepticism by RAKing The Planet
Let's send 2020 out in style. Here are our top 10 random acts of kindness ideas to set 2021 up to be our best and kindest year yet.
Put a smile on someone’s face. A thank you note is a simple gesture to show someone that you appreciate them. Whether you are thanking a family member for helping you move or a friend, just for being a great friend, it’s sure to brighten their day! And who doesn’t love getting something in the mail that isn’t a bill!?
The holiday season is so busy for so many of us. A little surprise like this can make a stranger’s day! It’s a random act of kindness that can keep on giving because oftentimes, it will encourage them to pass it on, creating a chain reaction of kindness. Talk about RAK-ing the planet!
Sometimes we all get so caught up in our day to day life that we forget to reach out to our loved ones. The holiday season is a perfect time to reconnect with someone you love but who you might not have spoken to in a while.
Due to so many factors, including the current pandemic, it is expected that over 50 million Americans are facing food insecurity in 2020. Find a food pantry in your area to help these families. Food pantries are typically looking for foods like whole grain pasta & rice, canned vegetables, canned soup, canned fish, and peanut butter.
If you think something positive about a stranger, share it! Some compliments you can give to a stranger are:
We’ve all been there. We forget to top up the meter and get back to our cars to find a ticket on the windshield. Look out for a stranger and put some coins into a parking meter to help them avoid this fate.
It’s been a strange year for businesses and bars and restaurants have suffered a lot! Whether you are getting take-out or safely dining in, bump up that tip percentage and show appreciation for your server or bartender who has surely seen a decline in their income this year.
Any other year, we’d encourage you to visit a nursing home, but 2020 is not just any year. A safe way to connect with a senior citizen this year is to become pen pals. Plenty of nursing homes are encouraging people to send letters to their residents and making it so you can find someone you share interests with!
If you’re not squeamish around needles, this is a great random act of kindness gifts. The need is always great and you are truly making a difference in someone’s life.
Imagine how you would feel if you came out to your car on your way to work and saw the ice was already scraped off of your car’s windshield. It would feel good right? You can give that feeling to your neighbor with this kind gesture.
It will come as no surprise that here at RAK, we really love random acts of kindness. In fact, it’s in our name! We love to RAK our friends and family by sending them gifts to brighten their day but we also think that it’s so much fun to send a gift to a stranger. We want to connect strangers around the world with random acts of kindness ideas so we created our Anonymous RAK and RAK Donor programs.
A RAK is a random act of kindness. We have created RAK boxes for you to customize and send to people around the world. You RAK a little or you can RAK a lot but every RAK is meaningful. You can choose between a $10 box and a $25 box, each filled with goodies to put a smile on anyone’s face. The only difference with the Anonymous RAK is that instead of choosing someone you know to send the box to, it is sent to a stranger! You never know who your RAK is sent to but you will know that it brought them a lot of joy!
Our RAK nominee list is full of people who are deserving of a Random Act of Kindness kit - and this means it could be anyone because we all deserve kindness in our lives! You can nominate someone that you know (or even yourself!) to get onto the list. Then you can sign up to send an Anonymous RAK. Our patented RAK technology will then match all of our RAK donors to our special RAK nominees. We’ll announce on our social media when we send out our Anonymous RAK’s so you know when your gift is about to make someone’s day. Now you are a true #RAKStar!
There truly is a different kind of thrill sending a RAK to a stranger! Not only do you make a difference in someone else’s life without expecting anything in return, science shows that a RAK a day keeps the doctor away! Okay, that may not be entirely true but research does show that carrying out random acts of kindness is really good for our mental health. It can reduce stress, improve our emotional wellbeing, and sometimes even our physical wellbeing. It connects us to others and creates bonds and our brains really love that!
The Anonymous RAK stories are some of our favorites to hear about especially this year. We have all been spending a lot more time at home and away from strangers. People are feeling isolated and disconnected from other people, now more than ever. We may not be able to go to the movies, see live music, or meet new friends but we can always keep on spreading kindness and connecting with people through RAKs.
Make sure to tell us your RAK and Anonymous Acts of Kindness stories by tagging us on social media. That is your gift to us because seeing your stories makes our day!
